I’m thinking about doing a skills course but I’m not sure which one would be right for me. Has anyone done any of the great rock courses with Ed Oxley? I can’t decide if it would be starting at the beginning with the “stop crashing 1/2” courses or if I would be a bit bored?

For reference, I’m fine around all reds and most blacks and I like to get air, though I struggled a bit with Dai Hard and 50 shades of black at BPW. I would imagine that some of my technique is less than perfect, so I’m wondering whether it’s worth going back to the fundamentals before pushing myself to progress?

I’ve done a couple of courses with Ed. Stop Crashing first. After 20 odd years of riding I wasn’t sure I was going to get anything from it but had a couple of mates who were just starting out, so I went along for the ride.
I took a lot more from it than I thought I would. He did a good job of assessing the groups abilities and tailoring the advise to suit each of us. You will get a large spread of ability in the group though and the day goes by super quickly.
It sounds like you should possibly go for the Flow course or Alpine prep given that you are confident on blacks already. I will say though, you will be surprised what someone who really knows what they are doing to watch your style of riding with a constructively critical eye can do for your riding. I thought I was doing alright on the trails but had gotten lazy and picked up bad habits. I was definitely quicker after the Stop Crashing. The Flow course just built on this.

Oh, you wont be bored. Ed is great fun to ride with and you spend the day riding bikes and sessioning features. If you find that boring, you’re in the wrong place already. 🙂

Other Skills courses are available of course.

Just call Ed and talk to him, he’s a top bloke and wants you to get the most out of your session

Thanks both, think that’s good advice and I might just go for the stop crashing course 1st. Never done a skills course before, so I think my worry about being bored is based on my GF’s experience of snowboarding lessons where if you end up with a weaker group you can suffer as they soak up more of the instructors time. Though I’d imagine Ed would be more engaged than a bored French dude who’s giving the same lesson for the millionth time that season!

If you are having to take a day off work or travel a good distance then I would say 1-1 is best value for money.

If I remember, the first thing we did on Stop Crashing was track stands, which I can do with confidence. A couple of other people on the course were being introduced to the concept. However, I ride regular footed. Once Ed clocked my smug face he suggested that I try and track stand goofy footed, which of course I couldn’t do and levelled the field nicely.

Very basic example but you get the idea.

As ElShalimo suggests, give the guy a call, he will see you right.

Well I’m not great at trackstands with either foot so sounds like a good place to start!

Whenever you read these “Skill courses” threads you get the same answer = book it and you will learn something / its brilliant.

I’ve done three courses, and did learn and it was great.

But for balance (see what I did there) has anyone ever done one that was no good / or not fun ?